The Warmth of Him
by Aslan's Lamb
Summary: Aslan comes to Anares a week before the wedding to give her some sobering news.


A week before her wedding to Edmund, Aslan appeared to Anares in her bedroom.

Anares was embroidering. She had been having trouble sleeping. Sometimes, she had nights when Chainbith's face appeared before her, leering, when she thought she could feel the rope burning into her hands and feet, and she would go seek out Edmund. She never needed to say much. She'd simply rest on his shoulder and he would sit with her without speaking. Sometimes, he would hold her hand.

This was not one of those awful nights. She was simply not able to sleep, and so the best thing when she could not sleep was to light a candle and get to work.

And then the light of the candle was covered by a large shadow and she looked up and saw Him.

Anares had always read in books about people being afraid of Aslan. Yet, frightened as she was of so many lesser things, she looked up at him without fear. She knew instinctively that He would be gentle with her. She only wondered, _why is He here?_ For she knew that Aslan never came without a reason.

"Daughter," said Aslan.

Anares stood. She curtsied, then thought of kneeling, then didn't. He was Aslan. He knew her thoughts and He knew her motives. It didn't matter if she curtsied or knelt. He could see past that.

"Come sit by me," said Aslan. And he positioned himself on the soft, velvet carpet.

Anares came. She sat by Aslan, then dared to lean against his warm, heavy body and breathe Him in. She felt absolutely safe. Not Edmund, not her own father, had ever made her feel this safe.

"I have a hard truth to share with you, daughter," Aslan said. "And however much time you need to receive it and accept it, that is how much time you have with me. I will stay with you for as long as you need it."

Anares felt the ache within her begin. Of course, He had come with bad news. She began to shake even before the words came.

"Three years from now, Edmund will go riding into the forest with his brother and sisters. They will be hunting. The four of them will be taken back to Spare Oom, to the land they had come from. There, they will turn into children again, the children they had been when they first arrived."

Anares wept. She did not question that Aslan was speaking the truth and she did not need any clarification. She simply wept for the loss that she knew was coming. The word, _why_ passed through her mind but she did not give it any attention. Who asked the king of the universe why? And it did not really matter why.

Then a thought came to her and she did speak it out loud. "Will I be able to follow him there?"

"You will not be married to him there. He will turn back into a child."

"But can I turn into a child as well? Be his friend?"

"Daughter," Aslan said. "It would be very difficult for you there. It is a much harsher world that places many demands on its women. And you would not be able to live with him, not until you both grew up. You would find it merely a shadow."

She would lose him. And not only _him_ , she would lose Lucy and Susan and Peter and be left alone at Cair Paravel.

"Aslan," she said. "I hope you're not asking me to rule Narnia three years from now." Her voice shook as she said this.

Aslan smiled. It was the first time he had smiled and it was a kind smile, not a jesting one. "No, child. That would not be suited to your temperament at all. There will be indicators to Peter as the time draws near that he needs to choose another ruler and he will choose one. He will choose well."

"Oh. But surely I must tell Edmund about this! I must tell him, he must know…" and she trailed off.

"I will tell him," Aslan said. "I would not put such a burden on you. I only told you separately because I knew how much you'd need privacy to grieve. And also, that You'd need Me."

Yes. Yes, she did need Him. It felt at that moment that she would need Aslan to stay right here for the next three years to make them bearable. For she was in love with Edmund, deeply in love already, and how much would she love him after three years had passed?

"You will have great joy with Edmund," Aslan said. "You will. I would not have told you this if I knew that it would ruin the time you do have together."

Anares nodded. _This_ , she knew. And yet, it was terribly unfair. She thought this and did not say it, and Aslan said to her, "I know."

And seeing that He could read her thoughts anyway, she began to speak with him. And she said, "Why?" And she said, "It's unfair!" And many other things that she had thought she had no right to say. And Aslan spoke long with her into the night, explaining things to her in a way that convinced her, not that she would meet the future easily, but that she would not meet it alone. She was loved, loved more deeply than she could imagine, in spite of the pain and tragedy that was surely coming, the love would carry her through.

The fire had gone out in the fireplace but Anares did not notice. Aslan's body kept her warm.


End file.
